
No doubt you’ve heard the phrase, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” but sometimes it’s the little things that are successful in driving you the craziest. Case in point, some friends of mine recently moved into an older home and were in the process of moving in all their furniture. When it came time to install the washer and dryer, however, there was a slight problem.
Moving the cabinet would seem to be the simplest solution, right? Unfortunately, the cabinet contained the utility room sink, so moving it really wasn’t an option unless they wanted to go to a lot of extra expense.
Fast forward to after their phone call to me. I wanted to come up with something that was a quick and easy fix, but at the same time didn’t cost a lot of money. Here is where I finally have been vindicated for the accusation of being a packrat.
Lo and behold, in the packrat’s possession were several pieces of 2×8 lumber, along with a little more than half a sheet of 3/4” birch plywood. It was a simple matter to build a small frame out of the 2×8’s to fill the 57” wide space. I needed to use one 2×8 spanning the width, one on each end, and one in the center. I also added a couple more pieces of the lumber to act as added support.
Before I put the top on, I wanted to make sure the frame was attached securely to the wall. The first thing I did was to remove the baseboard. After identifying where the studs were, I attached the 2×8 frame using 3” drywall screws drilled directly into the studs. Next, I attached the 3/4″ plywood top using 1¼” drywall screws. Finally, I cut a piece of the baseboard I had removed earlier to fit in the gap in front of the platform.
By the way, as far as the cosmetic work goes. Since it’s in a laundry room, my suggestion to the homeowners was to paint the exposed front and sides of the base, then install a piece of sheet vinyl on top of the platform.
All in all, not a bad days work for an old packrat!
thanc
I need to build a nice palette at the 48″ entry to my backyard shed. We were using a builders palette and its rapidly disintegrating from moisture and thin materials. Your article clued me in on attaching the back 2×4 to the shed itself!
Will paint make it weatherproof?
Would polyurethane work just as well? (The grain on the 3/4″ 48×48 plywood is nice)
Will 1/2″ bottom plywood be ok for the bottom?
I also wonder how much inner support of 2x4s I need,
and how to support it to be leveled.
Please text any response to 3145185046.
Thanks again
I have cleaned out the inside of my washer, top loading, several times, but my clothes keep coming out with dirt on it!!! I don’t see how the water filter lines could let that much debris in. Is there any other possibility?